One of Germany’s most successful football clubs, Borussia Dortmund has its roots in the industrial Ruhr region and prides itself on retaining its working-class roots, community commitment and anti-establishment mentality.
That’s why, in the week before one of the biggest games in the club’s history, some Dortmund fans are angry about a sponsorship deal with Rheinmetall, a major German arms producer. Everyone, from club leaders to legislators, has weighed in on the move, sparking a debate about the normalization of the military in German society. Still, many fans would prefer to focus only on Dortmund’s appearance in the star game of the European season, Saturday’s Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Dortmund’s three-year partnership with Rheinmetall, announced on Wednesday, includes advertising and marketing rights at Dortmund’s stadium and on the club’s grounds, but not (crucially for some) a place on the club’s famous black and yellow jerseys. equipment. Neither party confirmed the settlement amount.
Generations of Germans, raised on the postwar idea that “never again” should their nation foster armed conflict, remain uneasy about associating themselves with the defense industry. Unlike in the United States, where professional and college sports games often feature uniformed soldiers displaying American flags and flyovers of fighter jets, outward displays of patriotism and associations with the military are rare at sporting events in Germany.
Some fans would like to keep it that way.
“Borussia Dortmund is a football club that has been a champion of tolerance and social projects,” said Inge Fahle, a retired teacher from Dortmund and a fan of the club since childhood. “A sponsorship with a weapons manufacturer just doesn’t work,” she said.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund’s chief executive, said in a statement that the club was “consciously opening itself to dialogue” by partnering with a weapons manufacturer. He said the partnership reflects the role a company like Rheinmetall has come to play in German society, since the country stepped in to support Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia.
“Security and defense are fundamental cornerstones of our democracy,” Watzke said. “Especially today, when we see every day how freedom in Europe must be defended. “We should face this new normal.”
Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, also defended the sponsorship this week, saying it reflects the geopolitical reality Europe now faces. Germany has provided about $30 billion in military support to Ukraine, including ammunition, tanks and other materials manufactured by Rheinmetall.
“Rheinmetall’s sponsorship of a football club is unusual, but it shows where we are,” Habeck said.
Since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Rheinmetall’s business has skyrocketed. Shares in the company, which makes the Leopard tanks that Germany and some of its NATO partners have sent to Ukraine, have risen six-fold in the past three years.
Armin Papperger, Rheinmetall’s chief executive, said he expected the company to receive about a third of the 100 billion euros ($109 billion) that Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to revitalize the German military in the coming years.
Dortmund’s fortunes are also on the rise thanks to their performance in the Champions League. The club, which like all German teams is controlled by its members but is also the only club in the country’s first division with publicly traded shares, has improved its financial forecasts twice this year. It now hopes to make a net profit of up to €50 million, roughly double its target at the start of the season. Dortmund has the second-highest revenue in the German league, behind Bayern Munich, according to Deloitte.
Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl asked about the sponsorship and said he would prefer to focus on Saturday’s match.
Fans play a powerful role in German football and have been known to organize demonstrations against decisions they consider too commercial or otherwise compromising the sport.
Earlier this year, a backlash forced the league to abandon talks with a private equity firm over a deal that would have provided teams with a $1 billion cash infusion in exchange for a share of revenue. transmission. Dortmund’s Mr. Watzke is the chairman of the league’s supervisory board.
Those responsible for Dortmund’s fan relations department issued a brief statement saying that they were focused on the Champions League final. But they confirmed that management had spoken to them about the deal in advance and they had objected.
“It is not always possible to reach consensus in these dialogues,” they said. “As was the case in this case.”
Anna Neumann, who works in local politics in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and will support Dortmund on Saturday, said several Premier League teams in England are sponsored by gambling companies and firms with links to countries criticized by organizations. of human rights in Germany.
“Rheinmetall is helping the people of Ukraine defend freedom and self-determination,” said Ms. Neumann. “I’ve heard from friends and people who don’t think it’s that bad of a deal, nor is the debate surrounding it.”